Brexton Isaacs
This November, Illinois Wesleyan University students will have the opportunity to vote for Illinois’ next Governor, and Pat Quinn is the clear choice for young people.
Pat Quinn has been a courageous Governor, making the tough decisions to getting our state through difficult economic times. Now, thanks to Governor Quinn’s tenure in office, Illinois’ unemployment rate is at its lowest since before the great recession and jobs numbers are on the rise. This means that when we graduate, we’ll be heading into a better job market than before Pat Quinn was Governor.
Quinn’s opponent, Bruce Rauner, has refused to take a stance on almost every issue and has claimed to be a moderate. But he has ducked and dodged questions about his views, lacking transparency on many of his “plans,” simply responding with plugs like ‘I’ve been a successful businessman, so I can make it work’. Everyone may not always agree with Governor Quinn on every policy, but as the Chicago Tribune pointed out, “at least he’s willing to defend a position.”
On the few policies he has actually talked about, Rauner has taken extreme positions, clearly standing on the opposite side of the issues that young people care about, such as marriage equality and raising the minimum wage.
This summer, when asked about marriage equality, Rauner said plain and clear “if it came to my desk—I would have to veto it.” Contrast this to Governor Quinn, who signed the bill into law and has continued to fight for LGBT rights in Illinois.
While minimum wage workers in Illinois already live below the poverty line at just $8.25 an hour, Rauner has advocated for lowering or getting rid of the minimum wage all together, sending minimum wage workers even further into poverty.
Governor Quinn knows that no one who works full-time should have to live in poverty, and continues to advocate for a raise in the minimum wage. The additional income in the hands of those who need it most will be invested back into the economy, stimulating growth and creating more jobs.
Rauner has repeatedly said that he wants to lower the state’s income tax from 5 percent to 3 percent, but has yet to explain what budget cuts he would implement to pay for the lost income. No one likes taxes, but when Governor Quinn took office, he faced a backlog of bills and had to ensure that our state didn’t go deeper into debt. Governor Quinn took the common-sense approach, knowing that we had to pay our bills and balance our budget. Rauner is simply making fantasy campaign promises Illinois can’t possibly afford in reality. The math just doesn’t add up.
When it comes time to vote this November, join me in voting for Governor Pat Quinn. We can’t afford Bruce Rauner’s extreme views and unclear plans.